A quiet blog that discusses LGBT issues, fiction, publishing, pop culture, and romance novels that may or may not be erotic romance.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

And Yet More Sockpuppets Outed...

And now for more on sockpuppets. It's dismal, I know. I don't even want to comment much about it because I get such a sick feeling in my gut when I think about authors...or people...doing things like this. So I'll concentrate more on the link I found.

According to this link, what I've been saying about sockpuppeting and Internet fraud all along is now coming true.

The fakery often does not stop at Amazon book reviews. Accounts sometimes are created to modify Wikipedia entries – either the author’s, in order to make it more effusive, or other authors’, to slam their work. Forums find themselves submerged with threads raving about certain books, while others are inundated in insults about competitors. But all of these methods are being exposed with ever-increasing regularity.

I honestly didn't realize wikipedia entries were being abused. But frankly, I have wondered how some not so famous authors have wiki pages and they don't seem to have done anything important enough to warrant them. It's like this endless aggressive push for self-promotion is getting so out of hand, and so obnoxious it's turning people off more than it's helping. And yet they have such thick blinders "they" don't see this themselves. And, more and more are going to be exposed in time. It just stands to reason.

This part about author Stephen Leather is where is really gets dismal:

“The second controversy arose when Leather admitted, on stage, to creating online fake identities to promote, talk about, and praise his own books. He even admitted to arranging discussions between these different personas to make the whole thing look a little more genuine.”

Of course we're hearing a lot about this happening with authors because it's still too soon for the mainstream to understand that a lot of what they read online may have been planted by fake accounts and sockpuppets. I have one good friend who will often e-mail me with political information and ask me to find out if it's true before she sends it out to her friends. In other words, I don't think this nasty business is isolated to the publishing world. I think it's everywhere, and all online businesses, from auto repair shops to furniture design, are becoming subjected to it.

And my prediction for the future stands as is. This is going to continue, these people are going to be exposed eventually, and I think we'll be seeing more legal issues arise where people will start to be prosecuted. I posted about one guy a few weeks ago who began an online campaign to defame his peers with e-mails...by accusing them of being pedophiles no less. He not only got caught, but is being prosecuted as well. I'm hoping things like this start to set an example for others who are doing it.

For those who think I'm not right about the future, check out this web site that is designed to help people manage their online reputations. A lot of reputations have been damaged because of sockpuppets (and nasty bloggers) and people are becoming aware of how important it is to have a good online reputation. We'll be seeing more of these web sites in the future as well.

@Barb...If you read enough reviews, you come to see which are authentic and which aren't. At least I've found that to be the case.

@Kristabel...That's interesting. Most people I know (and I'm talking about people not all that familiar with the Internet) say the opposite. Evidently, whoever came up with that commercial isn't in tune with reality. State Farm should look into it and see how they are spending their ad dollars.

Second Chance: The Complete Series

About Me

Ryan
@ryanfield
Hybrid author of over 100 published modern romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN, FANGSTERS, THE RAINBOW DETECTIVE AGENCY and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. (The profile photo isn't very good, but it's really me and it's recent from 2017. I'm not supposed to be a photographer. )
RfieldJ@aol.com

Second Chance: His Only Choice

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The Women Who Love to Love Gay Romance

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At a glance, Anton Pagano looks and sounds just like any other twenty-something. He lives in a mansion in northern New Jersey with his mom and dad, and he's never had to worry about anything other than his wardrobe, his latest new car, and the secret love affair he's been having for years. However, Anton has more than just the love affair to hide: he belongs to a Sicilian vampire mobster clan that migrated to New Jersey in the late 1800s.

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Chase of a Dream

In this 59,000 word unabridged version of the sequel to "Chase of a Lifetime" that contains all of the original erotic scenes, Jim Darling finally finds the happiness he's been chasing for so long. He and Len Mayfield have settled into a quiet routine in their small newly renovated home in the Hollywood Hills, and they enjoy every minute they spend together raising Len's toddler grandson, Culum Mayfied.

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Unlike most stories, where the rich and powerful husband dumps the hard working, devoted life partner for someone younger, this one takes a turn in the opposite direction when the rich husband is the one to get dumped. But with young Josh's help, Roland learns in less than a week's time that his future can still hold both earth-shattering sex and a love of real substance.

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